Written Answers

Tuesday 19 December 2000

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from the National Farmers Union regarding the extension of the less favoured areas scheme to dairy farming and, if so, what response it will make and whether it will advocate such an extension to the European Commission.

Ross Finnie: The NFUS raised the principle of compensating dairy farming in the Less-Favoured Areas under the LFA legislation some time ago. A detailed paper on the subject was given to me by the Union at DairyScot on 30 November 2000. Whilst we are studying the paper in detail and will respond in due course, I must point out that budgets for the LFA Scheme have already been set. At this juncture, therefore, LFA dairy farming could only be covered under the scheme at the expense of beef and sheep enterprises.

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7091 by Susan Deacon on 8 September 2000, whether the occupational health and safety minimum datasets have been issued and when the information to be collected will be made available to the Parliament.

Susan Deacon: The occupational health and safety minimum dataset is expected to be published to the NHS in Scotland shortly. When published, a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Library and on the "Scotland Health on the Web" (SHOW) site. The first set of information collected is expected to be available in late summer 2001.

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7091 by Susan Deacon on 8 September 2000, how many accident and emergency ambulance crew left the ambulance service in (i) 1995-96, (ii) 1996-97, (iii) 1997-98, (iv) 1998-99, (v) 1999-2000 and (vi) 2000 to date because of (a) ill health, (b) early retirement and (c) transfer to non-emergency service duties, expressed in numbers and as a percentage of the total number of accident and emergency ambulance staff.

Susan Deacon: The information requested is not available centrally. The Scottish Ambulance Service however may hold the data locally and you may therefore wish to write to Mr Adrian Lucas, Chief Executive, Scottish Ambulance Service, National Headquarters, Tipperlinn Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5UU with your request.

Autism

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10421 by Susan Deacon on 20 November 2000, whether the independent study commissioned by the Medicines Control Agency to investigate a possible association between measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and autism found any evidence to refute claims of a casual association.

Susan Deacon: The independent study commissioned by the Medicines Control Agency and published in The Lancet in June 1999 found: no increase in autism associated with the introduction of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in 1988; no difference in age of diagnosis between MMR immunised and unimmunised children; no difference in the MMR immunisation rates between those children with autism and the general population, and no link between the timing of MMR and the onset of autism.

  The study concluded: "Our results do not support the hypothesis that MMR vaccination is causally related to autism, either in its initiation or to the onset of regression."

Autism

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10421 by Susan Deacon on 20 November 2000, who undertook the independent peer-review of the independent study commissioned by the Medicines Control Agency to investigate a possible association between measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and autism.

Susan Deacon: The peer review of the independent study commissioned by the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) to investigate a possible causal association between measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism was undertaken by The Lancet . Details of The Lancet’s peer review process can be found on their website, http://www.thelancet.com.

Childcare

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to extend regulation beyond the scope announced in Regulation of Early Education and Childcare – The Way Ahead.

Nicol Stephen: In the paper Regulation of Early Education and Childcare – The Way Ahead,  published in May, we proposed that regulation involving examination of the quality of care should extend to care for children of primary school age, rather than being limited to care provided for under eights as at present. Where care was provided for children of secondary school age only, the paper indicated that regulation should be introduced but limited to fit person checks on staff. We have now carefully considered comments and have decided that full regulation should be applied to care for all children up to the age of 16. Measures to achieve this will be included in forthcoming legislation on regulation of care services.

Ferry Services

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has held with the Scotland Office about the availability of capital funding for expenditure on infrastructure to support the Euro-Ferry proposals for Rosyth and what the outcome was of any such discussions.

Ms Wendy Alexander: None.

Fisheries

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made, or is making, of the effects on fishing communities of a cut in fishing quotas.

Rhona Brankin: Such an assessment remains premature. Whilst quotas have now been set, we need to reflect fully on the impact of the 2001 quotas on the industry. I intend to discuss these issues with the fishing industry early in the New Year. I have also asked Scottish Enterprise to undertake a project to look at the scope for re-focusing and re-structuring the fishing industry.

Fisheries

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of co-operation exists between Scotland, other EU Member States and third countries on fisheries control and enforcement.

Ross Finnie: There is extensive co-operation between the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency on behalf of the Scottish Executive and also other enforcement authorities in the UK with those of other member states and third countries. Such co-operation is important to ensure the effective application of measures designed to conserve fish stocks. Examples of co-operation involving the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency and other enforcement authorities in the UK over the last 12 months include:

  exchanging and sharing information from monitoring and control activity with other member states as appropriate, but notably Denmark;

  sharing surveillance/monitoring information with Third Countries, namely Norway, Iceland and Faroes;

  bilateral meetings with Irish and Norwegian authorities;

  joint enforcement operations with the Netherlands in the North Sea;

  participation of fisheries inspectors from other member states and Norway in UK enforcement training courses;

  routine exchanges of fisheries inspectors with Norway, both at sea and ashore;

  participation in an International Conference on Monitoring, Control and Surveillance organised by the European Commission in Brussels;

  participation, in Canada, in an International Fisheries Conference on sustainable fishing at the request of the Scottish Fishing Industry;

  enforcement operations in waters covered by the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, and

  the development of an operational protocol on satellite monitoring with France, Spain, Belgium and Ireland. Similar operational protocols are also being developed with other member states and Norway.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many acute NHS Trusts have strategic plans for dealing with hospital-acquired infections.

Susan Deacon: All NHS Trusts in Scotland are required, in terms of the Scottish Infection Manual (1998), to produce and implement an annual infection control programme, and to develop written policies, procedures and guidelines for the prevention and control of infection. This requirement is reinforced in the Scottish Health Plan Our National Health announced on 14 December.

  In addition, the report Hospital Acquired Infection: A Framework for a National System of Surveillance for the NHS in Scotland (May 1999) requires local Trust Implementation Plans to give explicit consideration to the problem of hospital-acquired infection.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many infection control nurses have been appointed in the NHSiS in the past five years.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally but can be obtained from individual health boards and Trusts. The names and addresses of all health boards and Trusts are available on the Scottish Health on the Web (SHOW) site at www.show.scot.uk.

Health Promotion

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit is of the proposed National Diet Co-ordinator.

Susan Deacon: The primary function of the National Diet Action Co-ordinator will be to co-ordinate and to help maximise the effectiveness of the wealth of activity underway, at both national and local level, to implement the recommendations of the Scottish Diet Action Plan, Eating for Health . Priority tasks will include working with primary producers, manufacturers, retailers and caterers, all of whom have a key role in influencing people’s food choices.

Landfill Tax Credits

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage landfill operators to utilise landfill tax credits.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Decisions about which projects should be supported by landfill operators under the landfill tax credits scheme are a matter for the operator themselves as this funding is considered to be private funding.

  The Scottish Executive encourages operators to provide funding to projects that benefit the local community or wider sustainable waste management. Matters such as this are discussed when officials meet the Environmental Services Association (the trade body for the waste management industry).

  The Executive also supported the establishment of the Scottish Landfill Tax Credit Forum, set up in conjunction with Entrust (the credit scheme regulator) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

  The forum meets quarterly, disseminating information to its members and advising on best practice. It has over 600 members and meets quarterly. The members consist of environmental bodies, local authority representation, landfill operators, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Scottish Executive, environmental consultants and others. The meetings also give landfill operators a chance to say what kind of projects they would like to support.

Landfill Tax Credits

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are being put in place to enable local communities to influence how money from landfill tax credits is utilised locally.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Decisions about which projects should be supported by landfill operators under the landfill tax credits scheme are a matter for the operator themselves as this funding is considered to be private funding. One of the approved criteria for which funding may be used is the maintenance and improvement of a public park or public amenity in the vicinity of a landfill site. Many such projects, and others, are influenced by local organisations offering to provide the required 10% contribution towards funding which cannot be covered by the credit scheme.

  The Scottish Executive encourages operators to provide funding to projects that benefit the local community or wider sustainable waste management and encourages communities to become directly involved.

  Forward Scotland, an organisation part-funded by the Executive, promotes the use of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme across Scotland through advertising, seminars and events. Forward Scotland has helped set up local trusts across the country to take advantage of the credit scheme. There are currently eight such trusts.

  The trusts are local organisations which decide how and where money could be best spent in their area, in accordance with the rules of the credit scheme. Forward Scotland promotes the scheme and offers guidance and support to the trusts if they wish to participate. Forward Scotland has worked with the trusts on around 200 projects to date and currently handles about £2.5 million of landfill tax credits each year.

  The Executive also supported the establishment of the Scottish Landfill Tax Credit Forum, set up in conjunction with Entrust (the credit scheme regulator) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The forum meets quarterly, disseminating information to its members and advising on best practice.

Language Training

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to promote Scotland as a quality provider of English language training for speakers of other languages.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive is contributing to the strategy which was launched by the Prime Minister in June 1999 to attract more international students to the UK. Scottish Executive officials are already engaged with the British Council, Scottish Education & Training and Scottish Trade International; bodies which, acting collaboratively, are well placed to promote the attraction of foreign students.

  Further education colleges are very active in the provision of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), also known as EAL (English as an Additional Language) and ESL (English as a Second Language). The provision is varied and is offered on a number of levels, including to UK residents who may be first generation migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. The courses are also very heavily promoted and are sold overseas with students from countries as diverse as China, India and the Koreas coming to Scotland to study.

  In addition, the Scottish English Language Teaching in Consortium (SELTIC), is a consortium of public and private sector language schools promoting themselves as a destination for English language classes and offering advice and consultancy on all aspects of English language teaching.

Ministerial Correspondence

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Health and Community Care will respond to my letter of 16 May 2000 regarding the retirement age of Scottish Ambulance Service staff.

Susan Deacon: I replied to the member’s letter on 30 June 2000. I have arranged for a further copy to be sent to you.

Nurses

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the infection control nurse to patient ratio is in each health board area.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally but can be obtained from individual health boards and Trusts. The names and addresses of all health boards and Trusts are available on the Scottish Health on the Web (SHOW) site at www.show.scot.uk.

Nurses

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken to encourage the recruitment and retention of nursing staff and flexible return to work options for nurses who have left the NHSiS.

Susan Deacon: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change made clear that all NHS employers will be required to meet or exceed best practice guidance on family friendly policies as part of the new Staff Governance Standard. To help employers, guidance on family friendly policies will issue in the New Year, and will address flexible working, childcare, breastfeeding and career breaks. In addition, we will invest in the skills of all NHS staff to help them perform their roles and duties and develop their full potential.

Planning

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the estimate by the Scottish Housebuilders Association that reducing housebuilding activity in the area covered by the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Joint Structure Plan 2000 by 14% will cause a loss of almost 3,000 construction jobs in the area.

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the statement by the Scottish Housebuilders Association that targeting more land for housebuilding could contribute to a reversal of the anticipated population decline in the area covered by the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Joint Structure Plan 2000.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The SHBA’s objections and representations will be taken fully into account in reaching a decision on the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan.

Population

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address the population decline in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley which the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Joint Structure Plan 2000 anticipates will continue year on year for the next 16 years.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Executive will continue to work with relevant authorities, agencies (including the Glasgow Alliance) and other interests to address population decline in the area.

Water Safety

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive,  further to the answer to question S1W-11098 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 23 November 2000, whether it will appoint and fund a water safety officer, similar to the post that already exists in England, with the remit of preventing drowning and other accidents.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Question S1W-11098 was answered in the belief that it referred to the regulation of drinking water quality, which is the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. Prevention of drowning and other accidents is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive.